How to get the best wine deals

You may be slightly jaded after Christmas and not really thinking of stocking up on masses of wine. After all, been there, done that. You may even be thinking of giving up wine for dry January. But don’t rest on your laurels as there’ll soon be a time when you’ll feel you deserve a glass or two. January is a fabulous time to get some bargain wine. And it will taste all the better when you do get round to drinking it as you’ll know you saved some money.

Wine retailers are falling over themselves at this time of year trying to offer some brilliant wines at crazy prices in order to fill in the post-Christmas lull. If you’re lucky enough to still have a bit of cash left after Christmas or some Christmas gift money to spend, this is the best time to pick up some bargain wine.

One of the best ways to save money is to buy wines online.

Reputable online wine retailers, like Rude Wines, have some fabulous January sale wines on their website.

“We’ve made a real effort this year to offer some great deals to our customers.” Sales Manager Gary Hubbock of Rude Wines told us. “We know January can be a cash-strapped month so we like to offer our customers some big discounts to ensure their wine racks are nice and stocked up for when they feel like a glass or two.”

“This is a great time to stock up some wine for the rest of the year, especially if you have a party or wedding planned for the summer” continues Gary. “If you intend to store it for future, just remember to keep it somewhere cool and out of direct sunlight to ensure the wine stays at its best. I’ve recently stocked up on our New Year Wine Rack Essentials case. A mixed case of 12 bottles for £79.99 where you’ll save 18% off the individual bottle prices. And the wines really are delicious.”

As well as offering January sales, the New Year is often when wine merchants bring in new vintages. They may have just a few cases of the old vintage left so they sell them off as ‘bin ends’. These tend to be genuinely good deals, not the false discounts the supermarkets are so fond of.

“We often like to make space for new vintages coming in at this time of year.” Gerald Duff of Rude Wines tells us. “This means we reduce the price of the older vintage and sell these on our site as bin ends to make way for the new arrivals. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this wine. Indeed it can often be even better than the more recent vintage as it has had more time to improve in bottle, so you’re getting even more of a bargain. But watch out for bin end wine that may be a little past it’s best, warns Gerald. “Certain wines are meant to be drunk while young and fresh. Here at Rude Wines we always taste our bin ends before putting them on sale to check they are still drinking well. It’s a tough job but somebody has to do it.” smiles Gerald.

“My particular favourite bin end at the moment is our Chateau de Bensse Cru Bourgeois 2012 which is on offer at £10.07 so it has a very appealing 30% off. It’s a classic Claret with delicious black fruit and a savoury finish. Perfect for drinking on those chilly winter evenings.”

Rude Wines are an independent, online wine retailer who has set out to discover some of the world’s ‘off the beaten track’ wines. Stocking wines from countries as diverse as Peru, Uruguay and Israel, as well as delving deeper into the more familiar wine territories.